Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

The vamp's teeth sank into my flesh, and heat flashed white-hot through every cell in my body. The sounds of his greedy sucking filled the air, the last thing I'd ever hear if I didn't do something soon

I took a deep breath and gathered the last of my fast-fading reserves. Energy surged through my limbs. I grabbed the vamp's head, ripped him away from my flesh, and twisted his neck hard

Bone snapped. Breaking his neck mightn't kill him, but it sure as hell would immobilize him and allow me to get away

I rolled him off me, then grabbed the car door and pulled myself upright. The parking garage whirled around me and, for several seconds, I simply stood there, battling for breath as sweat dripped down my face and blood ran from my neck and arm. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, my throat was drier than the Sahara, and my heart pounding so erratically it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest

Something had been on the arrowhead. Something meant to knock me out

Ahead, a creature that was cool and blue moved toward me. It seemed to flow rather than walk, shimmering brightly one moment, fading out of existence the next

I blinked, not sure what I was seeing. Or if I was actually seeing

Then the smell hit me. This was the dead thing. The thing I couldn't let get me

I tried to climb into the car, but my legs had become lumps of unfeeling ice and suddenly I was toppling sideways again. I hit the ground with a grunt, gasping for breath as the blackness rushed in

The last thing I remember seeing were the hands that reached for me

Hands that were blue and suckered like a gecko's ok ten minutes to stop looking in the rearview mirror for any sign of pursuit and begin to relax. I glanced at my brother, still slumped in the passenger seat, and touched a hand to his neck. His pulse was steady, his breathing even. Yet I didn't feel any easier. Until he woke, until I knew for sure he was okay, I couldn't

Which left the problem of where to go while that happened. If I couldn't go home and couldn't go to the Directorate, then really, I only had one other choice

Liander

He'd protect Rhoan every bit as fiercely as I would, simply because he loved him. I reached for my phone and quickly dialed his cell phone number. He wouldn't be home, not with the moon in bloom

He answered on the third ring. "Riley," he said, surprise in his voice. "What's up?"

"I found Rhoan."

"He okay?" The edge was back in Liander's voice and I relaxed a little more

"He's unconscious, so I'm not sure. We need somewhere safe to retreat."

"My office," he said instantly. "It has plenty of security, and there's a loft where he can sleep it off."

I glanced at the time and saw it was almost three. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"I'll meet you out front."

I got there in fifteen, but it didn't matter because Liander was waiting, anyway

"Jesus," he said, as he dragged Rhoan from the car and hauled him over his shoulder. "He looks like he's been through a marathon."

"In some ways, he has." A marathon of milking, I suspected. "Let's get off the street, then I'll try to explain what has happened."

He nodded. Once he'd checked himself through the eye scan and fingerprint scanner, the huge red metal door that dominated the front of the cheerless brown brick building opened, revealing the soft golden glow that was Liander's workshop. I stepped through, my gaze scanning the many half-finished bits of latex humanity and monsters. "You've got another movie contract?" I asked, scanning the line of ogres, trolls, and wart-nosed witches

He nodded as he closed and relocked the doors. "A fantasy project. I've actually had to take on two apprentices."

"Excellent."

"Indeed it is." He walked toward the stairs, taking them two at a time, as if Rhoan's weight was nothing more than that of a babe. "What happened to him?"

I hesitated, but only briefly. Liander was ex-military, and knew how to keep a secret. And while Jack might have a problem with me telling Directorate secrets to non-Directorate personnel, I doubted Rhoan would. Not in this case, anyway. And he was the only one whose opinion I really worried about

"He was in St. Kilda trying to find out why hookers were being snatched off the street, and got snatched himself."